Party head: "An independent election run was not as promising an alternative for reaching our collective goal."

Following days of internal debate, the Green Movement headed
by Prof. Alon Tal has decided to join Tzipi Livni’s Knesset list, Tal told The
Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

“After deep consideration the joint
leadership of the party reached the conclusion that the interest of the party is
best served by joining a larger party with whom we identify and which could
guarantee to us supporters from the central part of the political map,” Tal
said.

Green Movement’s decision followed back-and-forth discussion on
what Tal described as “a very difficult strategic decision.”

Only
Wednesday evening, the party had announced that it was not, in fact, joining
Livni’s list, and would either run independently or with other parties whose
agendas matched those of the Green Movement.

“Clearly there are
advantages on both sides,” Tal told the Post. “But there was unanimity among the
party leadership that this was the smart and responsible political
decision.”

As party head, Tal will probably receive spot No. 13 on
Livni’s list, he said.

“Supporting the Green Movement would in no way
involve supporting the ruling Likud party,” Tal continued, stressing that votes
for the Green Movement would not be “lost” by providing support to this centrist
ticket.

“Given the short time available, an independent election run was
not as promising an alternative for reaching our collective goal – Knesset
representation for Israel’s green party,” he said.